The advent of international competition in the automobile industry has produced not only a variety of different sized motor vehicles, but has engendered and produced use of motor vehicles for longer periods of time. As discussed in the U.S. patent to M. Fenstermacher, U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,809, while original equipment is initially sufficient, use over a long period of time creates problems that require replacement. The problems generated are basically inherent in the nature of the use of the battery and the composition of battery retaining plate. It is obvious that battery acid and cold rolled steel are incompatible substances over extended periods of time. It is further obvious that because of the variety of battery sizes there is a requirement for a replacement tray that will be adaptable to all conventional battery sizes and, additionally, be resistant to the deterioration encountered with the conventional cold rolled steel or metalic battery tray.
It is an object of this invention to provide a single or universal replacement battery tray which will be resistant to the corrosive battery acid, and which can be readily and easily cut, trimmed, shaped or reduced to be adapted to any particular vehicle, and/or any particular battery.
It has been found that by constructing the retaining tray from a battery grade polypropyline that not only is the tray resistant to the corrosive effect of the battery acid, but provides a tray that can be readily trimmed or shaped to accomodated the tray to the particular vehicle and battery.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, which is somewhat similar to but more versatile than the apparatus disclosed by Fenstermacher, the base portion of the tray is fabricated to provide at least four recessed wells, three of which contain circular centering holes together with a pair of longitudinal slots; the remaining well containing a slot running perpendicular to said longitudinal slots. Again the tray is fabricated of battery grade polypropolene which not only is resistive to the battery acid, but which will not frictionally interact with the battery case upon use. The battery is fastened to the tray by virtue of the plurality of rectangular apertures extending through the upper ledge of the base and arranged on opposite side of the tray. Thus, by providing a minimum of four wells in the sequence as shown, and further by inserting and providing the plurality of fastening apertures in the base of the tray, a universal tray device is achieved and secured that may be utilized in most conventional vehicles, eliminating the necessity for a similiar device for each conventional vehicle.
These and other objects of the present invention will become immediately apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.